Induction The admissions authority for any academy within the Chancery Education Trust is the Chancery Education Trust. As an academy the academy follows all procedures in accordance with the coordinated admissions scheme. All applications for Year 3 shall be received and offers made individually by the Local Authority (LA) that deals with the academy in question in common with other Primary Academies in that borough in accordance with the Coordinated Admissions Scheme.

The standard number of admissions to each academy is in their individual Admissions Policy. The published admission number is inclusive of pupils with a statement of special educational needs in accordance with the relevant statutory requirements. The number of admissions is liable to change in accordance with the needs and demands of individual year groups.

In line with legislation, all children will be permitted to start in Year 3 in the September following their seventh birthday.

1.Delayed (Summer Born) Applications Delayed entry is when a child starts Reception Class at the beginning of the academic year in which they turn six years (when their peers will be in Year 1.) This is sometimes termed as ‘out of cohort’ or ‘out of peer group’. The Headteacher/ Principal, the Academy Trust and the school’s Governing Board will consider applications for delayed entry in exceptional circumstances, taking account of the needs of the child and the impact on the academy. The application must be made writing by the child’s parent/carers to the Headteacher/ Principal or Chairman of the Board of Governors. The request must be supported by documentation confirming that the child has learning delay or difficulty and that their social maturity is well below that of his or her peers. Requests must be made no later than 18th November 2016 to enable a decision to be made before the closing date for normal age group admission in September 2017 on 15th January 2017. There is no mandatory requirement for requests to be met. The Headteacher/Principal may also meet the parent/carers to discuss the request further as part of the decision process.

Parent/carers are advised strongly to fully consider the needs of their child, including their social, emotional or physical development, before requesting delaying entry and whether any additional needs of the child may be exacerbated by the delay in starting school. Chancery Education Trust has an inclusive, differentiated and enriched curriculum for all children. The Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) states that “We know that, on average, deferred entry is not in the interests of summer-born children. IFS research has compared the performance of children who start school across areas of England that operate different admissions systems. We find that deferred entry to school does not close the gap in educational attainment between those born at the start and end of the academic year. In fact, on average, those born later in the year benefit slightly from starting school at the beginning of the academic year with their older peers, rather than joining them up to a year later. This is because the benefit of additional time in school more than outweighs the disadvantage of starting school slightly younger.” (http://www.ifs.org.uk/publications/6856 cited 12th December 2014) Parent/carers also need to be aware that when a child is taught out of cohort this may not be accepted by any new school applied for later on, including at secondary transfer.

2.Applications All applications shall be made using the Local Authority (LA) standard application form that can be collected from the Local Authority (LA).

It is a requirement that the Headteacher/ Principal meet with parents as part of the process of offering a place at each academy.

3.Over Subscription In the event of over-subscription, the following common criteria shall apply in priority order:

Looked after children: A looked after child is a child in the care of a local authority or being provided with accommodation by a local authority in the exercise of their social services functions. They are also children who were looked after, but ceased to be so because they were adopted (or became subject to a residence order or special guardianship order).

Children in attendance at a linked infant academy: If the number of applications from children in the linked infant academy exceeds the number of places available in the junior academy, decisions on the allocation of places will be made in accordance with criterion 3 (siblings as detailed below) and then criterion 5 (proximity of the home in relation to the academy).

Siblings: Children who have a brother or sister at the academy or the linked Infant Academy that will still be attending at the beginning of their first term.

Children of staff at the academy: Chancery Education Trust may give priority regarding oversubscription criteria to children of staff in either or both of the following circumstances:

a) Where the member of staff has been employed at the academy for two or more years at the time at which the application of admission to the academy is made and/or b) The member of staff is recruited to fill a vacant post for which there is a demonstrable skill shortage.

Proximity: Proximity as measured in a straight line from the front door of the home to the main entrance door of the academy.

The Local Authority (LA) will make offers of places in April for the whole of the academic year. Children who are not offered a place immediately will have the option of remaining on a waiting list. Children on the waiting list will be offered places in order according to the criteria in (4) above. Children will be removed from the waiting list once the normal admission point for their birth date has passed, unless the parent requests in writing that they should continue to remain on it.

4.Appeals All applicants have a statutory right of appeal in the event that their preferred academy is unable to offer them a place. Appeals for places will be considered in light of the class sizes set out by the Governing Board. Parents who want to appeal against the Governors’ decision not to offer their child a place at the academy must appeal directly to the academy. Appeals should be addressed to the Clerk of Governors at the academy within 14 days of receiving the decision letter. An independent appeals panel will hear the appeal. Parents will receive notification of the date and time of their appeal hearing, to which they can go and make their case. If they wish, an advisor or friend may accompany parents. Following the appeal, the clerk to the appeals panel will write to parents with the decision.

5.Waiting lists (for all year groups)

Waiting lists are maintained by the Local Authority (LA) and kept in the order of the published admissions criteria.

6.In Year applications All applications that are made for admissions to all year groups at any academy in the Chancery Education Trust are made to the Local Authority (LA) in line with their published “In Year” scheme. Parents/Carers should contact the Local Authority (LA) and will need to complete the primary in-year application form that can be downloaded from the Local Authority (LA) Website.

7.Children with a Statement of Special Educational Needs 0r Education, Health and Care Plan Children with a full statement of Special Educational Needs (SEN) or Education, Health and Care Plan (EHC) are dealt with under a separate process by the Special Educational Needs team. The published admission number of all academies is inclusive of students with a statement of special educational needs or Education, Health and Care Plan (EHC) that are admitted to the academy pursuant to the school being named in their statement or EHC plan.

8.Fair Access Protocol Academies that are part of the Chancery Education Trust, like all academies in their borough, will admit pupils referred under the Fair Access Protocol. A “Hard to Place” pupil will be given priority for admission over any others who are seeking or applying for an academy place.

9.Attendance Pupil attendance is monitored closely throughout each term and parents of those pupils whose attendance lies at 85% or below will be contacted by the Assistant Head Teacher/Head of PLS and invited to the academy to discuss reasons behind poor attendance and ways of improving attendance.